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Do dogs get colds?

I think our puppy has a cold. Her nose is all stuffy and she's had drainage from her nose... sometimes clear and sometimes opaque. Do dogs get colds? Do they need to see a vet when this happen or will they fight it off on their own? How long should I wait before bringing her in? We don't have vet insurance, so I don't want to drop $100 on a vet visit to find out she has a runny nose and that we need to wait it out. But at the same time, I don't want to ignore something and have it get to be 10 times worse than it needs to be... thus, causing us to spend extra money in treatments from something that could have been avoided! Can anyone help?

Yes puppies get colds. Kennel cough is the most commmon. Problem with real young puppies is that these colds can be dangerous, more so than in adult dogs because their immune systems are incomplete.

You can use a humidifier placed near the puppies cage, and a blanket over the humidifier and cage.
You should not exercise the puppy, cage rest only , if it is kennel cough or an upper respiratory cold. Make sure the puppy doesn't lose its appetite, or have any diarrhea. And give it a lot of fluids. It is best to see a vet when a puppy has any type of cold, because it can be fatal if the dog is really young.

Yes, they can. It is called kennal cough. If your dog has been around other dogs,in a kennal, has had the kennel cough vaccine recently or you or a family member has touched a dog that has kennal cough and did not wash hands between dogs the dog can get it that way. It takes about a week for the symptoms to show up. If it is kennal cough they typically need meds.

When my cats get colds I give them Echinacea-Golden Seal capsules. You might be able to give them to a dog too. Just read the directions on the bottle, remembering that the dose there is for a person weighting at least 100 pounds. So,--- if it's a puppy weighting maybe 10 to 15 pounds you could give maybe 1/3 of a cpsule mixed up in canned dog food. That's what I give my cats and they are about 10 to 15 pounds...
It's worth a try and don't forget the vitamin C pills ! You could crush one and also mixed it in your pup's food... Good luck !